I’ve had a pretty on and off relationship with writing essays throughout my life. I sucked at writing in middle school. Then, I got better and surprised everyone when I got a 96 on my English regents when I was in high school. Then I entered the realm of college and I thought to myself “The &%#*? These essay writing assignments are gonna chew me up spit me up and come back to haunt me.” Sure enough, I started learning how to write effectively. Sure the first essay grades broke my heart. But with each essay and each rewrite, I saw a change in the way I write.
I used to write essays with the intention of impressing the teacher that was grading it. I learned that selecting a thesis that pertains to me as an individual or at least one that contains my truthful perspective and opinion can drastically change the way I write. Now, writing essays is more like ” how do I put my thoughts down in a way that makes sense and at the same time projects MY voice?” So my type of “friendly” essay assignment wouldn’t tie me down to a specific thesis, rather it would let me construct my own from a general topic.
